Book Arts Tuesday-The History of the Book

I love it when I check the new books shelf at the library and find a book that I can't wait to get home and dive into. The History of the Book in 100 Books: The Complete Story, from Egypt to e-books by Roderick Cave and Sara Ayad is just such a book. The selection is wide-ranging, the writing intelligent, the images beautiful, and the design clear and elegant.

From the introduction:

We have not attempted to produce a collection of the 100 best books (however best may be defined). Nor the 100 earliest in this or that way. Nor the most famous, the most beautiful, the most influential or the most valuable; though these have all had an effect on our selection....

Our principle in selecting books has been to range widely, with books from every continent except Antarctica. Books that illustrate the huge range of formats and styles, with books of string (khipu), or written on bone, bark, or palm leaves as well as the better known clay tablets, papyrus scrolls and vellum or paper more familiar in Europe or North America.